Professor Gregory S. McNeal, JD/PhD, is an Associate Professor of Law and Public Policy at Pepperdine University. He is an expert on drones and topics related to security, technology and crime. He is a nationally recognized commentator and a frequent keynote speaker about technology, law and policy.

ESPN Uses "Chink in the Armor" Line Twice UPDATE- ESPN Fires One Employee Suspends Another

UPDATE: According to Fox News ESPN “says it fired an employee responsible for an offensive headline referring to Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin” and the “anchor who used the phrase has been suspended for 30 days.”

Linsanity just jumped the shark with the ESPN mobile website using the headline a “Chink in the Armor” to refer to the Knick’s loss to the Hornets. This came on the heels of an ESPN commentator* making the same comment on-air Friday night.

I’m not a sports writer, so I tried to avoid the whole Linsanity phenomenon; my sense of it was that five stand-out performances in a long season did not make a trend, so now that the absurdity of Linsanity has taken a turn for the racist, I think we should pause for a second and get our bearings.

Was the on-air commentary a poor choice of words? Of course, but if you watch the video clip (it’s just 8 seconds long), I don’t think the commentator was trying to make a pun. Judge for yourself:

Now, the headline is a different matter. As anyone who has worked in digital media knows, the headline is what draws attention and hits. Editors and writers try to maximize visitors and shock value with their headlines (check out mine, it got you here didn’t it?). Unlike an on-air comment, most writers and editors obsess over the headline even after they click the publish button. So my sense of things is that whoever posted the headline thought about it, giggled, and clicked publish. In fairness to the writer/editor, the term “chink in the armor” has been used over 3,000 times on ESPN.com, but just because it is a frequently used term doesn’t absolve the writers and editors of responsibility to use common sense. But, the problem may be an institutional one, not an individual one, at least judging by ESPN’s track record and their inept statement in response to the outrage— Here is what they wrote after pulling the headline:

Last night, ESPN.com’s mobile web site posted an offensive headline referencing Jeremy Lin at 2:30 am ET. The headline was removed at 3:05 am ET. We are conducting a complete review of our cross-platform editorial procedures and are determining appropriate disciplinary action to ensure this does not happen again. We regret and apologize for this mistake.

The initial comments may have been a poor choice of words, rather than racist or in poor taste, but you wouldn’t know that from ESPN’s statement. Note the avoidance in the language used by ESPN— ESPN.com’s “mobile web site” apparently did the posting, not a writer or editor. There is also no admission of wrong-doing or acknowledgement that this may have been an intentionally offensive posting, just some regret and an apology for “this mistake.” How about a statement that this was insensitive or could be perceived as insensitive? How about some acknowledgement that this is not consistent with the values of the company? As a matter of crisis communications and public relations this statement is a failure.

SB Nation Sports Editor Brian Floyd nicely summed up the controversy when he wrote: “The headline was unintentional — it had to be unintentional. Someone is going to get buried for this, making it a hard lesson to learn. But dang, don’t plaster the word ‘chink’ underneath Lin’s name on a huge national website without understanding exactly what the backlash will be. It’s not edgy or funny; it’s a ridiculously terrible mistake.”

I agree with the fact that someone is going to get buried, but I’m not certain that the headline was unintentional. Let’s not forget ESPN has a bit of a record with inappropriate comments: Remember the “Trail of Tears” reference? How about the “ He’s out having a Taco” comment? Or the “ white boy wasted” comment?

Those three examples plus the two “ Chink in the armor” comments get us to five, and while five isn’t a trend, it’s certainly enough for Linsanity.

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I do actually agree that “chink in the armor” is itself not a racist term. The problem is that it’s not being used here by itself. It’s being used in the context of someone who is of Chinese descent. By itself “chink in the armor” is fine, but in its context here, it cannot but evoke the epithet Chink, which has been hurled at people of Chinese heritage in America for decades. If this is innocent, great, but it was an appallingly poor word choice here, and I’m sure ESPN can find better writers who aren’t so ignorant.

you are right, it is a common phrase to use but this is where the definition of PUN comes in. A pun is a play on a common word or phrase that has a greater meaning in a particular situation where outside of it would be of no offense. In this situation, ESPN editors and writers should be educated enough to know that “chink” meaning hole or weakness is a double insult to Lin because they are suggesting he is the “reason” they lost this game and because it jabs at his nationality. It is also known that he has received chink comments from opponent fans. There is no way to argue ESPN out of this.

We all know what “chink in the armor” means and I don’t care if its been used “over 3000 times” on the ESPN network. This is definitely one time where it should not have been used. I personally think it was an intentional use trying to be clever with the use of the phrase by “someone” on the ESPN staff. You think ESPN would post a headline, “Niggardly (scant, meagre) Score Loses It for the Knicks”…I don’t think so. Being of Chinese descent, born here, I’ve been called “chink” many a time. It is a term that still sends shivers up and down my spine (even when I see it used as chink in the armor)…equivalent to the “N” word for a Chinese American if you don’t know. A large organization like ESPN has to be smarter than this…while the “race card” is played out far too many times, it is of my opinion that it is not used enough by the Asian community…then perhaps all of these insensitive comments/commentary (intentional or not) would not surface.

I completely agree with Gordon. When I watched that video on ESPN, I didn’t even realize until I saw a article about it on Yahoo. People are too quick to relate everything to race and in this case, it’s not true.

I disagree, this is the first fail for J. Lin and the first headline to come out is that? When Lebron James got so much hate and they only spoke about his flaws when have you ever heard that term of chink in the armor.. ooh lets not forget Chris Bosh’s flaws all over ESPN.. never heard chink in the armor.. It’s obvious this was intentional.

“Chink” is a well known racial slur word aiming directly at chinese. This was not a mispoken harmless gaffe because it had to passed thru writers and editors. Very stupid for espn to use this word. Billions of chinese out there knows this word, Do you think they will ignore it ?? Political conrretness and hyped up offense, I think not.

Racism is only in our minds? Well let’s just say that it starts there. It manifests itself with discernible and actual behavior. Behavior like violence, segregation, scapegoating, and of course slurs. How would it be if a media piece described a negative trait of a black player as niggardly? Legit word there right? America is very race sensitive in these times because for a couple of hundred years it was so very race insensitive. PC may be overused at times but in the sixties and seventies I remember the “n” word and “chink” being used openly by many on a regular basis.

It’s sad that our society plays the race card with everything?? Well if you’re white it’s easy to say that. Step in the shoes of person of color and see if you’re posing the same thing on here. I agree that’s it’s a saying and is used quite frequently but don’t talk about it’s sad to see society how it is. I wonder who made it that way….

Chink (also chinki, chinky, chinkie) is an English slang term referring mainly to a person of Chinese ethnicity but sometimes generalized to refer to any person of East Asian descent. Contemporary usage of the word as an ethnic slur has sparked controversies in the media for many years and many people consider the term an insult. -this is from wiki.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chink

I think you meant “Kink in the Armor”. “Chink in the Armor” IS racist no matter the context.

I totally agree with you, Gordon. I’m all for sensitivity, but this is going way too far… How long until someone can sue their dentist for saying, “You’re just going to feel a little prick”? You know… For sexual harassment…

people are defended and their anger is justified because clearly when someone mentions the word chink in USA (especially), the first thing that comes to mind is the Chinese decedent. sure it’s an old saying from the 1400′s but i am very positive that ESPN knows this etymology and thinks it’d ok to say it with pun intended because they will have a “righteous” excuse. what if Chicago Bulls coach Del Negro goes to Miami homecourt and a ginger white dude yells to the Chicago bench “Negro you are not welcome here”, would D. Rose or other African American players turn around and find that offensive?

in my opinion, racism will only end when people are open to talk about it, meaning ever race will take turn to get hammered equally so much that everyone just accepts these comments

people are defended and their anger is justified because clearly when someone mentions the word chink in USA (especially), the first thing that comes to mind is Chinese decedent in a mocking way. sure it’s an old saying from the 1400′s but i am very positive that ESPN knows this etymology and thinks it’d ok to say it with pun intended because they will have a “righteous” excuse. what if Chicago Bulls coach Del Negro goes to Miami homecourt and a ginger white dude yells to the Chicago bench “Negro you are not welcome here”, would D. Rose or other African American players turn around and find that offensive?

in my opinion, racism will only end when people are open to talk about it, meaning ever race will take turn to get hammered equally so much that everyone just accepts these comments

It’s apparent Gordon that you are a racist bigot and a poor excuse for a human being. You also make caucasian males look like fools. Continue to live in your bubble of delusion. Denying racism’s existence? You mines well deny the holocaust as well. You probably think the earth is still flat. Where are you from Gordon? Alabama?

are you going to write a follow up piece about SNL spoofing this entire story, making fun of everybody’s oversensitivity ??? i think they did a right thing, but nobody is taking them apart for what they did last night.

of course, in their piece the sports writer was dismissed mid show, and disappeared.

Morgan Freeman being a respected black man does not make him an expert of human psychology and history. Just because he was in Glory doesn’t mean he knows why racism exists.

Did we do away with slavery by sitting back and watching in silence? Did Jim Crow end because we ignored it? Will international sex trafficking end if we stop talking about it? Will gay men and women be allowed to marry if we ignore their current state as second class citizens?

Not talking about something never fixes it. Morgan Freeman was pissed off about Black History Month at that point in the interview, just to put his comment in context. His statement is completely ignorant. Things don’t go away if you ignore them. And to put BHM into context, the original creator, a black man, did not intend it to become a permanent fixture in our schools. He intended that the history of black people in America would eventually be included in our regular US History textbooks. Morgan Freeman’s hatred of the month is based on an ignorant view of why it was created in the first place.

Knowing that something is racist, or can be taken in a racist way, and still going through with it? That smells kind of like intentional racism, which is fine in comedy, but ESPN is not a comedy network.

Oh, Gordon, The saying has been around for years is such a lame excuse, give it up, man. There’s no excuse for such a linsensitive remark, lol. I’m surprised they didn’t add the “no pun intended” caption. While I shrugged off the fortune cookie picture and imagined that some might find it funny, I was quite offended by the distasteful “chink in the armor” line. Glad to see that there are still people out there who manage to see that there is a line that you shouldn’t cross.

I read ESPN a lot and the only other time I remember this term being used in a headlining way was when China beat Spain at the 2008 Olympics in basketball. It seems very unlikely that they happened to both be used in reference to Asians.

It was used for the purposes of a the title being a double entendre. Writers love making them when creating titles newspaper articles because it is attention grabbing. The fact that it was used for the title cements the idea that it was intentional. With all that said, a word or a finger from a stranger shouldn’t have power over you where you lose your cool. Get over it.

I agree with you Gordon. I should be able to call the race card on McDonald’s restaurants. That’s because when the name is spoken audibly the work “mick” is muttered, which is racist against my people the Irish.

I think it says more about the people who took offense to it than the writer who wrote the headline. For example I read the headline and was thinking “what is all the uproar over”. Why? Because I generally give people the benefit of the doubt and take what is said exactly as said instead of trying to read my own “personal” desires into the message.

Second it is not an obscure term. Read some books, watch some movies, I’ve seen it referred plenty of times. Heck the headdline author himself admit to having used the term several times over the years in the exact same way, but because THOSE players were not of Chinese heritage no one of course thought he was making a snide comment, and now all of a sudden they do? The problem is everyone tries to put their own personal spin on it and in my opinion I think the people being offended by it are offended because they are people that like to be offended. They get some kind of twisted satisfaction by raging against people they feel have wronged them rather than reading exactly what is said. What kind of ignorant and unintelligent society have we become to automatically assume there is some hidden meaning behind everything? Frankly it dissapoints me that so called enlightened individuals would automatically assume that the author is a bad bad man. Of course these days everyone is suspect right?

Frankly I’m dissapointed in the response of ESPN and the new media. What should of happened is they should have come out and said “You know what you’re all a bunch of idiots for even considering this to be an issue. He’s used the exact same wording before in other headlines, and this is much ado about nothing. Grow up for crying out loud” and left it at that. Instead they’ve just given justification and support to all those people who got offended after those self same people first probably said to themselves “hehe he said chink”. Yeah real sign of maturity there.

Why is this even an issue? I am Chinese and I don’t consider myself of low enough intelligence to be offended by a word; a sound. You’d have to be pretty confused or lacking a few brain cells to actually find sounds personally offensive. Oh no! Someone said “Chink!” (gasp). Who really cares? It’s only racist if you perceive. I have 3 kids and I call them little chinks all the time and we laugh. They will never be offended by words. I am a proud chink myself! Get a life and find something more meaningful to report on. I love reading Forbes, but this? Really. Holy &$@)! Chink-off already!

J_Dunn, I agree. They’d used the phrase many times in its innocent meaning. There’s no indication they’d ever used the slur (especially since one man has an Asian wife). They may simply have let the slur meaning of the word slip out of mind.

Analogy: a guy drives through Burger King to get a big bag full of cheeseburgers for his group (team, whatever). Gets back, passes them out to a happy Kowalski, Smith, Nogales, Krieger, Petrov, Mbutu, Kuular, Andrutsang, and one furious Martino who punches him in the nose. Why? The box says “Whopper,” which Martino takes to be a slur on his Italian ethnicity. But he hadn’t been singled out; everyone got the same type of burger. The box would have said the same thing if he’d been Greek.

At what point do you conclude that Martino is looking to take offense where no-one intended to give it? (Which is the behavior of a bully.)

Dont’ be fooled. While the term “chink in the armor” does have a meaning not based in racism, no one actually uses it. And ESPN has a long history of racist comments and actions. And any writer worth his salt knows that a company like ESPN is going to have editors galore. This was intentionally and they could not have missed the obvious way that this would be construed.

You don’t think he was trying to make a pun? Just because he said it with a straight face and in normal speaking flow, doesn’t mean it wasn’t intentional. He’s paid to be good at speaking on camera … but is this the writer or the speaker that did this?

Your points about ESPN’s actions shed some light onto the mindset of some in the organization. The use of the term “ch*nk” in the title is racist, malicious, and inexcusable. Equally disturbing was my own experience.

I sent a complaint yesterday to ESPN Customer Care about Max Bretos’ on-air use of the phrase “ch*nk in his armor”. I also tweeted to @mbretosespn and got no reply. ESPN CC did reply in a short dismissive denial stating that he said “kink”. Spin mode? Or lazy rep who didn’t bother to view the video clip?

My reply to ESPN included a link to their video clip w/time stamp and a request for issue escalation. No reply since yesterday. Last night, I posted directly on the video clip page, as did other viewers. Interestingly, the site was able to “edit” viewer comments that contained the slur and masked it with “!%&#$”. No telling if it was programmed or human intervention, but it was instantaneous. So, it’s apparent that somewhere in the bowels of ESPNWorld, there exists some common sense.

Oddly, this morning, the clip and comments are now completely removed from the espn.go.com site. These actions coupled with the “posted, then edited” title shows a clear lack of editorial control and, more importantly, a lack of professional guidelines for their staff to follow. ESPN has failed on many levels here. Please excuse the long post.

They’ve been using chink in the armor for years but at the same time they should at least ask themselves is it okay to run the word chink in an article about a chinese-american? Lin was called a chink in a very derogatory fashion while he played at Harvard.

Are you people (the ones posting comments) a bunch of idiots??? The proper term is ‘kink’ not ‘chink……a kink in the armor. I am pretty conservative and not the most diverse person but I would not use the term ‘chink’ when discussing / writing / blogging about Jeremy Lin. Jeez, read a book, get out of the house, expand your horizons a bit you cavemen (and yes, someone at ESPN should be fired for this).

In recent years it has become “knee-jerk” and “playing the race card” to point out racism. I heard it said (probably on NPR more than 10 years ago…) that one of Ronald Reagan’s greatest achievements is that they made America feel good about itself again…partly because he made Americans feel comfortable with their prejudices. I certainly have felt that transition over the past 30 years having graduated high-school in 1981 into a society that was trying very hard to be diverse and multi-cultural, and now finding myself pushing 50 in one that my father warned me about: “keep your head down and don’t be noticed–you’re a visible minority”.

Sometimes it’s not political correctness. Sometimes it’s being sensitive to the feelings of others. You do it all the time. Do you walk into Chinese restaurants and say out loud, “God, I love Chink food?” No, you don’t. Do you attend a wedding and say, “The bride is one ugly bitch.” No, you don’t. Does that mean you’re politically correct? No, it means you know when something is appropriate and when it’s not appropriate. So get off your PC high horse.

Mr. McNeal: you are surely correct that the headline was not unintentional. What I think you and the commenters do not fully appreciate is just how offensive this is. If someone had used the “N” word in a headline about M. Jordan or S. O’Neal an apology would hardly cut it.

For semiliterate manufactured offense, this ranks with calling “niggardly” (=miserly) a ‘racist’ word. You could have taken a moment to look up “chink” in the dictionary!

Dictionary.com (the Random House Dictionary) shows that the racist slang usage you refer to dates back to around 1900-1905… but the “chink in the armor” reference, “a crack, cleft, or fissure; a narrow opening,” dates back to 1350-1400 and comes from Middle English. Two of the three example sentences of how to use the word actually put it “in the armor.”

John SL Simpleton: No one is denying that this phrase has a legitimate meaning and usage. But you should easily realize that espn (or should I say, BSpn) was trying to create another Lin related pun- that’s what puns are, plays on legitimate phrases. Also, most people understand that in the journalistic practice headlines get reviewed ad naseum for propriety and sensitivity. The fact that this headline passed, means BSPN needs a serious management shakedown.

So you’re claiming that the unequivocal, unambiguous insult “simpleton” is “a legitimate phrase”? “has a legitimate meaning and usage” other than the offensive one? Because, if not, how can you complain about ESPN? In your case there is no doubt whatsoever about meaning or deliberate intent.

Now from the New York Daily News we have the two men’s own statements that it was an honest mistake. Partly summarized excerpts of the article….

Anthony Federico insists, “This had nothing to do with me being cute or punny.” He apologizes profusely, but notes that he had used the phrase “at least 100 times” in headlines over the years and thought nothing of it when he slapped it on the Lin story.

Federico called Lin one of his heroes – not just because he’s a big Knicks fan, but because he feels a kinship with a fellow “outspoken Christian.”

“My faith is my life,” he said. “I’d love to tell Jeremy what happened and explain that this was an honest mistake.”

Max Bretos also said he didn’t think of the slur Wednesday when he asked Walt (Clyde) Frazier: “If there is a chink in the armor, where can he improve his game?” The moment passed almost entirely without notice. A video replay suggests Bretos was not trying to be funny but made a poor choice of colloquialism. He tweeted his apologies Saturday, saying he meant no racial reference but would be extra-careful in the future.

“My wife is Asian, would never intentionally say anything to disrespect her and that community,” Bretos wrote. “Despite intention, phrase was inappropriate in this context.”

Anchor Michael Kim took to Twitter to defend Bretos. “I truly believe it was an unfortunate use of words but I KNOW there was no malice there,” he said.

A gracious Lin gave Federico and Bretos the benefit of the doubt: “They’ve apologized, and so from my end, I don’t care anymore. You have to learn to forgive, and I don’t even think that was intentional.”

——–

What a difference from the wanton accusations of deliberate malice that were made here!

I wonder how often ESPN make references using the word nigger? This shows the mentality of ESPN executives and reporters. Maybe it’s time Asians in America make a big deal out of racism instead of tolerating it.

But….the word nigger has no dictionary definition. It exists solely as a racial slur. Chink, on the other hand, IS in the dictionary. ‘Chink in the armor’ is a commonly used phrase that is understood by all and has no racial implication. Maybe if the Asian slander word wasn’t an actual word that’s in the English language this wouldn’t be a problem.

plain and simple, it’s worse than calling a black person, n___… other black people call other black people n___… u will never hear another asian call another asian chinc… it’s that offensive… nothin cool about it… pure racism… that person should get fired… think about it… what if when lebron lost in the finals last year, and they would have the title, n___ in the armor… think about it… how big of a deal that would have been… not only that person will get fired for sure… and he’ll never get a media job in his forseable future also… (wonders if he’s going to get just a slap on the wrist) that’d be a true travesty, shaq…

“There is also no admission of wrong-doing or acknowledgement that this was a potentially offensive posting, just some regret and an apology for “this mistake.”

The statement said “posted an offensive headline referencing Jeremy Lin.” How is that NOT an acknowledgement of it being potentially offensive? They didn’t even use the “potentially” part to give them leeway. They frankly admitted it was offensive.

Anyone trying to defend the use of “chink” in a story about a player of Chinese ancestry must be either a comedian or an idiot. This racism started well before this latest headline. On Wednesday, after Lin’s last-second 3-pointer beat the Toronto Raptors, the NY Post ran the back-page headline, “AMASIAN!”

I wrote on the Post website that day that only a publication as racist and polarizing as the NY Post would focus on a player’s ethnicity rather than his talents as a player, and what would be next: NO CHINK IN THE ARMOR? (I thought it would be more heinous to forecast a Knick loss and, thus, use the phrase in its proper context, as it appeared late last night.)

I’m thoroughly stunned that there are posters here decrying a hypersensitivity to political correctness. There was a similar comment on the Post website in response to my admonition on Thursday. He wrote, “Here’s a liitle secret for you Johnny, only blacks and jews are offended by remarks against their people. everyone else couldn’t care less because they carry no guilt or shame for who they are.”

listen Forbes, as a Editor/Author, and writer for years, technical, financial, and fiction, I have done a lot of things to gather readers, and in the modern world, “hits”… but this is beyond the pale; both magazine and your journalist. you are Forbes, not the National Enquirer.

leave these kinds of junk headlines to some other publication, but don’t waste reader’s time with this stuff. i’ve read your magazine, and your website for some time, and have heralded your wisdom to many. this is beneath you.

the words: “Chink in the armor” obviously hail from aeons gone by; and anyone who uses such a cliche knows what it means, and anyone hearing this phrase knows what the broadcaster is saying when they say it.

for the Asian community to use it to make hay is ridiculous, and for Forbes to write this garbage is ridiculous, and for ESPN to take it back is ridiculous.

there comes a time when the political correctness is counter intuitive, and sheds light on issues that don’t exist, and give credit where there need be none.

using hyperbole, sensationalism, inuendo, and stringing a short list of quips, phrases and instances together which supposedly occured is not responsible journalism in my opinion, and not what we expect from Forbes, maybe some NYC Daily Rag, or TMZ, but not Forbes.

we can use “journalistic responsibility” to explain and excuse just about any behavior by any writer if we want, and that doesn’t mean that makes what they do right.

this is just giving a forum to feed the flames of a non story. Lin’s success is a great story, i love it!!

when journalists make themselves or other journalists the story that is wasting our time.

I’m a contributor and commentator, this is opinion and commentary, it’s not journalism. For someone who claims to be an experienced editor, you seem to have missed the fact that this entire piece is written in the first person. A real editor would know the difference between opinion and a news story.

To the substance, the piece raises the question of whether ESPNs conduct was racially insensitive. I offered my opinion on it. If that is somehow below a national dialogue and only worthy of some “NYC Daily Rag” or TMZ, then that tells me you think all discussions of race should be moved to gossip magazines. That’s an indictment of you, not of me, Forbes or this piece.

then my opinion on you, is your opinion as epxressed on your commentary is of a racist, who ignores the sensitivity of people, particularly those hurt by espn’s commentary, by playing on as an impartial commentator.

I commend you for writing a very fair piece on this issue. However I must disagree with you. I’ve used the phrase “chink in the armor” numerous times and I’ve never once connected it with the derogatory use of the word. I think its quite possible that this is one of those things that slipped through the cracks. I highly doubt editors as ESPN would risk their careers to make a joke that they can “giggle” about as you say. The use of the word chink in this situation was unfortunate but you can hardly prove that it was intentional. Correlation does not equal causation. I tend to give folks the benefit of the doubt when it comes to matters of PC, because its really easy to jump to incorrect conclusions about people and their agendas.

Just to toss this out there but ESPN.com used “Chink in the Armor” as a headline during the Beijing Summer Olympics on a story about the USA Men’s Basketball team. http://cdn.faniq.com/images/blog/ChinkESPN.jpg

I understand that what happened was unfortunate, and after thinking about it, editors of printed text need to be more knowledgeable and sensitive about things like this. But where do we draw the line? Is it okay to use “chink in the armor” within the body of the text, or is that a foul as well?

As a black dude I’m certainly not the authority on all thing racially insensitive, but I certainly have enough perspective to know when I should be upset about the use of racial epitaphs. I just think a lot of these issues are sensationalized by the media and narcissistic political figureheads.

In this context, “chink” is not just a word, and I highly doubt that this headline was unintentional. To state my bias, like Jeremy Lin, I am Taiwanese by ethnicity. I’ve lived on both Coasts, in 4 states (all blue states) and 5 cities…and I’ve been called a chink more times than I can count. We do not live in a ‘post-racial society’ and I am outraged that ESPN would publish such a puerile headline.

I think that this headline was an ignorant attempt by a (perhaps sub-consciously) racist, or at very least insensitive, editor to crack a joke. The fact that this headline was approved is a sign of the model-minority status of Asians in America – does anyone possibly believe that that same editor would headline Dwight Howard’s “niggardly defense” or refer to a shut-out by CC Sabathia as a “niggardly performance?” Please…

I’m also saddened that this comment comes on the back of a fantastic piece by Jay Caspian Kang on ESPN’s Grantland. Kang poignantly noted the significance of Jeremy Lin for the indifferently ‘emasculated’ Asian American population, writing that Lin provides a “revenge fantasy,” a hero “able to understand every single racist thing said to him on the court and respond by dropping 30.”

I understand that racism exists – I’ve always believed that a truly cosmopolitan world is a fantasy. However, I am also a sports fan and I truly believe that athletics should be blind of race. As shown by the saga of Jeremy Lin, we’re clearly not there yet…ESPN has just shown us how far we have to go.

herein lies the rub: the asian community has enjoyed the media’s coverage of this story, and they WANT and need this hero, or they wouldn’t be showing up in droves to see the kid play, and to respond to these comment strings, Dean.

this is a two edged sword. as the story subsides, and the Linsanity fades to OrdLinary, then his 15 minutes will be up, and the collective good will passes by. other players will defend him differently, film will be watched, his weaknesses will be studied, and there will be more than a handful of games to view. he won’t score as much, and the story will be: “why in the world did we give this guy an apartment in Trump Tower?”

i’ve heard members of the Asian community calling into radio shows here in DC, and crying racism. i’ve heard black players saying if he was African American there would be no story here. i think quickly putting a racist spin on this story so soon, has already created a backlash, and it’s a shame. i never even thought of the guy’s race until it was mentioned on the radio, and in these articles. i just thought of it as a delightful Cinderella story and how wonderful it was to see him succeed. his ethnicity or nationality, or race never factored into my delight.

the whole race issue is obviously important to the Asian community, and they like this story. but being overly critical of the press, and seeing boogey men behind every comment will only bring this story to a close much sooner than anyone expected, because the press will stop reporting on this young man that much quicker

Samuel we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one. I truly wish that we could remove the lens of race from this story – but to claim there isn’t a racial angle to Jeremy Lin’s story is to wear blinders against the reality of our society.

Racism can be a subtle thing and the line of acceptable language and behavior shifts with time – a lesson that the anti-racist Samuel ClemEns learned regarding Huck Finn. From my perspective, I’m saddened that part of our society still believes that this type of language is still acceptable. It’s not funny when you’ve lived it.

it may have devolved into a race story by the press, but an extremely large part of the population only saw a young guy get a chance, and his heritage played no part in me enjoying good play. if this has been stoked by african americans who are race baiting, that is their problem. anyone who masters the blame game cannot face their own change, cannot grow spiritually, because they have someone else to point the finger at. if this has been stoked by angry asian americans, then shame on them. i just want to see the kid do well, and i for one will not be phased by this crap. if this has been stoked by race baiting media, sports writers and networks, then they should all get a life, and let go. they need to join the 21st century. Lin is playing with the best of them, that’s really all that matters.

he plays well, he got his shot against all odds, he woke up a crappy team, and made them rise to the level of their talent. he made people better around him, he has leadership skills born of humility, spirituality, and a can-do attitude.

those accomplishments stand on their own, and are above all this race baiting crap.

My question is where was the editor on this? With the latest flap from FOX’s Jason Whitlock and Floyd Mayweather making racial remarks against Jeremy Lin, I believe ESPN could have used a better headline. I know it was eye catching but the “C” word to Chinese is like the “N” word to African Americans/Blacks. A sensitive editor would not have used the C word. But this is America, all about freedom of speech and sadly, the racial attacks against Jeremy Lin will not go away as long as we have competitive sports.

Chink In The Armor isn’t even Slightly Racist, all of the Comments from Black Athletes over the Past Week Saying that the Only Reason Lin was getting so much attention is because he’s Asian, Now That’s Being Racist and Jealous.

I’m sure the word of choice was intentional. For few years I hear ESPN commentate on the flaws of Lebron James and Chris Bosh and when have you ever heard the term chink in the armor. So, this ONE time J. Lin fails to win it’s the first headline is chink in the armor.. wake the F*** up people, this is racist and I’m pretty sure the writer meant it.

Journalists play with words all the time, and are cognizant of their choices. I believe the phrase was consciously chosen for a reason. The reason might not necessarily be racist. It could be to generate viewers; maybe it was intentionally malicious: it could be to make a point provoking the Asian community to make them appear overly sensitive amid the other racial controversy around the Linsanity stories.

In any case, I believe it’s reasonable to believe there is intentional provocation. I assure you there would be the same controversy in other context. Imagine a headline describing Obama as niggardly versus stingy in the context of cut-backs; it would be reasonable to believe the choice of words was intentional in that context as well.

i agree. and niggardly has absolutely nothing to do with the N word, yet it’s use would be taken offensively anyway, and the journalist should be taken out behind the ESPN building and shot at dawn, after his/her final smoke.

Yes its racist. If I am offended by it then no one can tell me what is or isn’t offensive to me. I’ve spent many years in the “heartland” of the US where diversity is limited. People say things all the time about Asian people and we are such a minor population segment that its not considered. The source matters and the audience as well. I have a sense of humor and I’m not so thin skinned that we cant have fun with our heritage and vulnerabilities. But to throw out a comment such as this to such a broad audience is poor judgement at least and is dangerous territory that should just be avoided.

Hey, for the next Knicks loss, let’s see ESPN use this headline: “Knicks a Bit Niggardly with Points.” The term “niggardly” has been around for centuries and I’m sure no one will will take offense, right? I mean, my god, are we going to play the race card every time someone speaks? Considering Jeremy Lin is one of the only Asians in basketball, I am sure ESPN felt they could get away with calling him a “chink.” They DARE NOT offend blacks, who make up the vast majority of players. It’s just like when Spanish Olympic basketball team posed for a photo with squinty eyes–Asians just make an easy target for bigots like ESPN.

ESPN did the same thing after KJ Choi won the Players in May, 2011. Headline said, “Choi Nips the Competition” at the time,I took a screenshot and posted it on facebook. I couldn’t believe they did that

Give me a break! Are you kidding me? So, does this mean we’ve got to strike the phrase “a chink in the armor” from our lexicon? Must we also refrain from exclaiming that Lin “nipped” Toronto at the buzzer? Or that he “slanted” to the hoop, kept his balance, and dropped a critical bank shot in the fourth quarter against the Lakers? Heavens to Murgatroyd, I hope not!

By the way, I’m Asian, and I find this parsing through everything said and done simply to find a politically incorrect statement a worthless, sensationalistic pursuit.

I remember, several years ago during the MLB pre-season, ESPN used the “chink in the armor” phrase when doing a piece on the Yankee’s pitching staff. In this instance, the “chink” in the armor was a Japanese pitcher. I think it was Hideki Irabu who, sadly, passed away recently.

Are you kidding me?! Would ESPN even consider using a phrase like “getting a monkey off his back” as a way to describe a black athlete in the same situation? NEVER! Asian bashing with stereotypical racial slurs is considered acceptable, even humorous, in mainstream America. In this regard, and especially in sports, Asians lag far behind other ethnic groups in getting the basic respect that every human being deserves. Case in point, have you ever heard anyone say that Tiger Woods was the first Asian American to win the Masters? No, he is, and will always be, regarded as the first Black American to win the Masters. That is a telltale result of the American psyche.

I’m asian american, and when I saw the headline I couldn’t stop laughing. Anyways, it probably shouldn’t have been said. I’m, however, used to hearing racial slurs and name calling growing up — I’ve developed a thick skin and a sense of humor really quickly. I can only be responsible for my own words and actions and be the best that I can be. Other people need to make that decision for themselves. I, just keep on rising and going higher.

Most, if not all asians are paranoid on racial slurs specially if he/she is in the US. I know about the more popular meaning of the phrase but didn’t know about the other meaning until I looked at the references. I’m not living in the US so I don’t know the racist meaning. But I think ESPN was so dumb stupid on that piece. Jeremy Lin came from Harvard and lives in the US, he did not just migrated there, so he knows the double meaning of the words. Maybe the author was so naive that he overlooked the other meaning but I thought that they, specially ESPN ought to be careful and smart. But thanks Jeremy Lin and all the other Asians who are more intelligent to know that will not generalize the mistake to all Americans. We can think that the piece is from someone stupid in ESPN who thinks that he has superior brains than any Asians and thought that no Asian knew about the double-meaning phrase. Intentional or not…. make the guy a garbage collector

What was so wrong with the statement espy gave. They acknowledged it could be offensive doesn’t that imply that it could also be taken as insensitive? And as far as the commentator who was speaking with clyde frazier, there was absolutely zero racial motivation for his question. The headline on the mobile website should have been corrected before it ever got to the website, but mistakes happen and until we find out that this was an intentional act why doesn’t everybody just clam down.

I am black, I’m no stranger to “hidden” racism. That being said, stop trying to create issues where there are none! When I saw this story, I thought I’d been using/understanding that term wrong all this time. That phrase has nothing to do with race–never did. I would think more people, especially those on this site would be more enlightened. There are a lot of slurs out there that are so commonly used as slurs that no one could say, “I didn’t know what it implied.” Chink in the Armour isn’t one of them. I’m confident that most people–at least those who aren’t looking for racism where it doesn’t exist, took the phrase to mean what it generally means, that the man has weakness in his game.

Your telling me if ESPN used the term “They played Niggardly” on their website about a NBA team with black players, your would have no problem at all? Good to know ESPN can put that on without offending you. Or if they said about a Hispanic player, he played “Spic and Span”, your ok with that too? “Chink in the Armor” is just as offensive to Asian Americans.

Michelle, you are a fool and a clown. I have read countless of espn articles and whenever a team shows a weakness or a player shows he’s “human” espn has never come up with super witty lines that could be deemed as offensive. And somehow that being said they just so happen to use a phrase with a word that is known to be derogatory towards asians. Coincidence? I think not. You insult people’s intelligence when you tell them racism is a figment of their imagination. By your logic, I should call you a big lip nigger. And when you get upset I will just deny it never happen and tell you to stop playing the race card. After all that’s how you handle racism right? lol.

Niggardly vs “chink in the armor” is an unfair comparison. Niggardly is very rarely used in modern language whereas “chink in the armor” or “chink in the wall” etc. is a very common phrase. Not many people would know niggardly has nothing to do with negro people (those with higher exposure to literature and vocabulary would most likely accurately define it, but the reading level of the majority of people who watch ESPN is lower as opposed to PBS).

Someone on here in the comments used the term “lexicon” in a sentence. How many people know the definition of lexicon without a google search? Its rarely used by authors/writers writing to people on a “lower reading level”. Its why people use nearly interchangeable terms like “dialect” as opposed to “vernacular” depending on audience.

Here’s another example: My mom used “kinky” to describe something, I had a wtf? look on my face because I had only heard the word kinky in reference to sexual adventures. Doesn’t mean that she is wrong or that I am wrong.

“Chink in the armor” may be a well-known expression, but surely everyone can agree that it was a poor choice of words at best. While I do not believe that there was any racist intent behind it (although, if the editorial process is as Mr. McNeal describes, this faux pas is not particularly excusable), the staff certainly should have known better than to use a word that has a second, racist meaning that is traditionally applied to the race/ethnicity of which the headline’s subject is a member.

For example, it would not have been proper for ESPN to use corresponding headlines such as: “Mick has rough night” for an irish player who is named mickey; or “a whopping defeat/Hornets whop Marino” for an Italian player (I know they’re spelled differently, but they’re still homophones); or “Trouble for ‘Coons” for a hypothetical team called the Racoons that fields or primarily fields black players; or “Crackers solve the puzzle of _____’s defense” for a team with white players (or that primarily fields white players) that pulls a win against a team with a strong defense.

When there are literally dozens of better ways to convey the same point, it’s either one hell of an oversight or an editor/writer that just didn’t give a damn. Racist? Not necessarily. Arguably offensive? Certainly.

As a person of asian descent, I can only say that I personally found the comment extremely offensive and was shocked to see that a national site like espn would post such a thing – if even for only 35 minutes. I understand websites need headlines to draw traffic but there are limits to what should be posted and this time that limit was clearly crossed. The word chink is a derogatory slur and to used in a headline and paired with a picture of an asian is despicable. I hope whoever was responsible will be fired.

Have you ever said chink to an asian person? it is completely racist. Millions of chinese americans have either been humiliated or been in huge fights because of that word, so to say it means nothing is absurd. It was either extremely racist or stupid, probably both.

Im sorry, but when I saw the headline I did not put the two together as some have. I took the headline to mean “a crack in there armour”. Have heard the phrase used many times and as Im a history buff it is used alot in different centuries. Was it meant to be a racist comment? I dont know, but Im glad that it never entered my mind that way, and feel saddened that it has been pointed out. chink [chingk] noun 1.a crack, cleft, or fissure: a chink in a wall. 2.a narrow opening: a chink between two buildings.

Give me some credit for not being stupid, many highly educated and skilled Asian will and can voice our opinion of this ESPN anchor Max Bretos’ true intention. He knew what that word meant but thinking he is more clever than most of us Asian are really to foolish to think he can get away for his poor attempt to disguise his true character. The word Chink was very popular during his growing years as I am of the same age(btw, I am Chinese) was very often as the “n” word. Bretos may not be prejudice at his present age but he is in a position that should have know better! This is all about respect of fellow men…

Using the Chink term will remind the Chinese people of the barbarism within the American society, regardless of the true intention of the speaker. It won’t hurt the Chinese, but only the people who use it. The Chinese are clearly aware of the historical fact that they are the only ancient civilizations that is still here with the human race after 5000 years. Those who opposed the Chinese have either faded away or will do so in due time.

If ESPN had called a Hispanic player “Spic And Span”, or a White player “Honky Tonky”, or a black player “He played Niggardly” do you have ANY idea the firestorm it would cause? “Chink in the Armor” is the same derogatory like term for Asians. Anyone with common sense gets the intended pun. Shame on you ESPN and any Americans who think calling an American born Asian American a Chink is no big deal.

A chink in the armour: It’s not a race – it’s a gaping hole. As a former employee of ESPN, I can now readily confess that I am not a big sports fan. In fact, during my initial days with the company and my meet and greets with senior managers, I was grateful for the fact that I could think on my feet. When asked if I was a big sports fan, I replied with my own question. “Do you know that Ballroom Dance may become an Olympic Sport?” A couple years later, Dancing with the Stars became a phenomenon on ABC. ESPN is really good at reporting on sports, as I now understand some guy named Lin is a really good basketball player. But I must also confess, it was an article in Forbes that caught my eye. The debate on whether “a chink in the armour” is an intentional pun, insensitive slur, or ignorant cliché is not a question I ask or care to answer. I merely observe that it is generating a lot of attention, and that is always a good thing for a media giant. From the sidelines, I can’t help but appreciate the humor. Afterall, isn’t this supposed to be entertainment – be it a ball game, magazine article, or media dance? I merely wish to point out that when it comes to valuing diversity, it’s not a race, but within our own perception sometimes there is indeed a gaping hole.

Which makes more sense: A ‘crack’ in the armor, or A Chinese person in the armor. Now you tell me: Is ESPN being racist or the reader of the headline? Chink is a real word, the fact that people are getting so offended is rediculous! Maybe ESPN was being racist, or perhaps they were using the real word in its context. Either way, that does not give the reader the right to be racist and associate that headline at all with Lin.

Here’s my ranting… 1. ESPN’ writer, editors and other involved in the process are expected to be intelligent enough to expect consequence of attacking the very best Asian-American/Chinese American. Put it this way, if you can’t even appreciate someone like Lin, who has brought so much excitement, even joy to so MILLIONS of us! Who the heck are you? Your values and mores are seriously questionable. Then, one begs the question, maybe ESPN represents them… 2. If the economic development level, technological advancement scale, and other key measures of human life for major human races are not at par racism would be like cancer, incurable.

I’m so sick of political correctness its not even funny. Talk about an overreaction, this is as bad as it gets. One guy fired and one suspended for what? Who was hurt or what harm was done? Nothing! What’s next, jail time for looking at someone sideways?

This is TOTAL BS!!! This day/era is rushing to point the finger of racism!! This comment meant nothing of the sort! ESPN is wrong for quickly firing this ESPN commentator!!! Look up the definition of “chink” and put those definitions into the context of what the ESPN commentator stated. Here are the 2 definitions: Clearly you can see he was referring to the team as armor and what Lin could do to make it stronger. Not calling him a racial name!! ESPN YOU SUCK!!!

1) Chink (also chinki, chinky, chinkie) is an English slang term referring mainly to a person of Chinese ethnicity but sometimes generalized to refer to any person of East Asian descent.

2)chink noun 1. a crack, cleft, or fissure: a chink in a wall. 2. a narrow opening: a chink between two buildings.

people say “kink” in the armor, with kink referring to a twist or bend or some fallacy, not “chink” lmfao. Are you guys stupid? a “chink” in the armor and pronouncing the “ch” as in “CHEESE” and not “KINK” is not the same. And like the other posters said, if you honestly think things like this are not done intentionally, then you are very naive. Not like it’s a big deal, it was politically incorrect, so fix it, and move on. I can understand the majority of mainstream society not understanding since their IQs tend to gravitate around 50 and spend much time watch American Idol, but clearly the more intelligent should find that an ESPN anchor and journalist knows better.

A vulnerable area, as in Putting things off to the last minute is the chink in Pat’s armor and is bound to get her in trouble one day . This term relies on chink in the sense of “a crack or gap,” a meaning dating from about 1400 and used figuratively since the mid-1600s.

No one caught this last Wednesday? I was watching espn with my fiancé, I didn’t catch the anchor’s name, but I immediately tweeted what I heard. I mistakenly thought it was Mr. Weissman, turns out it was his co anchor. Mr. W tweeted me back by direct message saying his co anchor surely did not mean it that way. I can email you the screen shots if you’d like.

To everyone who brings up the definition of “chink” saying it does not mean anything. Understand this. Grow up being called chink eyed everyday get in fights 7 to 1 being kicked while being called chink. Then here a term, that IS NOT used often ( in fact in the 30 years i’ve watched sports i never heard the term), being used “cleverly” for an asian and not be offended. 98% it was used on purpose, 1% maybe sub-consciously, 1% just complete ignorance of the word. Anyway you slice it, it was wrong. Great for JLin to rise above it!

Greg, saw your article on espn. Had heard the commotion about the Lin headline Friday or so. By Saturday it had blown up. I had just Finished watching the michigan game sat night and espn is promoting the upcoming sports center segment on uconn women’s basketball and their headline is “they’ve got 99 problems but a loss ain’t one…”. I sit there staring at the screen saying to myself “really???”. Here espn is in the middle of a situation where they are using derogatory and insensitive language and now they are using a take on the Jay Z song “99 Problems But A Bitch Ain’t One” to refer to the UConn women’s basketball story. Are you kidding me! There is a serious institutional and systemic issue at espn where it appears that they have absolutely no filter or control on the content they produce. You obviously have a forum to continue to point this out. It appears espn is out of control and this is a symptom of a much larger institutional issue. Please consider Using this to point out the larger issue at this organization.

This looks like the classic prank pulled on Will Ferrell in “Anchorman”. Young, arrogant writers can put whatever they want in front of the “Ron Jeremys” of the world and they’ll read it. Gone (apparently) are the days when the anchor’s actually wrote and read the copy before the broadcast began. Unfortunately, much of the “business” of entertainment journalism is driven by young skulls full of puns, innuendo and political ideology. Have we said “Goodbye” to the days when mature men and women analyzed our world’s daily events, then delivered a thoughtful, informative telecast. Is it upon us to say “Hello” to the brotherhood of Ron Jeremy………Classy!

This looks like the classic prank pulled on Will Ferrell in “Anchorman”. Young, arrogant writers can put whatever they want in front of the “Ron Jeremys” of the world and they’ll read it. Gone (apparently) are the days when the anchor’s actually wrote and read the copy before the broadcast began. Unfortunately, it seems that the “business” of entertainment journalism is driven by young writers full of puns, innuendo and political ideology. Have we said “Goodbye” to the days when mature men and women analyzed our world’s daily events, then delivered a thoughtful, informative telecast? Is it upon us to say “Hello” to the brotherhood of Ron Jeremy?……………CLASSY!!

Why is this even an issue? I am Chinese and I don’t consider myself of lo enough intelligence to be offended by a word; a sound. You’d have to be pretty confused or lacking a few brain cells to actually find sounds personally offensive. Who really cares? It’s only racist if you perceive. I have 3 kids and I call them little chinks all the time and we laugh. They will never be offended by words. I am a proud chink myself! Get a life and find something more meaningful to report on. I love reading Forbes, but this? Really. Holy &$@)! Chink-off already!

Why is this even an issue? I am Chinese and I don’t consider myself of low enough intelligence to be offended by a word; a sound. You’d have to be pretty confused or lacking a few brain cells to actually find sounds personally offensive. Oh no! Someone said “Chink!” (gasp). Who really cares? It’s only racist if you perceive. I have 3 kids and I call them little chinks all the time and we laugh. They will never be offended by words. I am a proud chink myself! Get a life and find something more meaningful to report on. I love reading Forbes, but this? Really. Holy &$@)! Chink-off already!